UN adopts resolution condemning Islamophobia; India’s Hindutva ideology mentioned

United Nations: A resolution, co-sponsored by Turkey and Pakistan, that strongly condemns continuing violence and acts of terrorism targeting individuals, including persons belonging to religious minorities, based on religion or belief, was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu introduced the resolution and said that the international community must stand up against the spiral of hate. He sent condolences to the families of the Muslims who were killed in Christchurch in a clearly planned terrorist attack and claimed that Islamophobia and racism go hand in hand.

Quoting the poet Rumi who said, “listen with ears of tolerance, see with eyes of compassion, speak the language of love”, Turkish Foreign Minister rejected the actions of reckless politicians who often use distorted historical narratives and toxic conspiracy theories to equate Islam with terrorism.

The resolution, titled “Combating terrorism and other acts of violence based on religion or belief”, was adopted in a 193-member Assembly. The Assembly condemned in the strongest terms the heinous, cowardly terrorist attack aimed at Muslim praying in two mosques in Christchurch, and expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and the people of that country. In further terms, the Assembly urged States to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief and to foster a domestic environment of religious tolerance, peace and respect.

According to the News International, the resolution decried the recent Islamophobic terrorist attack in New Zealand. Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi highlighted the rise of extreme nationalistic and populist ideologies in the West and also in Pakistan’s neighbourhood. She also mentioned India’s Hindutva ideology, saying it was giving rise to “bigotry, intolerance, anti-Muslim hatred and xenophobia.”

Pakistani Ambassador Lodhi noted in her speech that nine victims of the Christchurch attack hailed from her country. She said the Christchurch terrorist was only the latest manifestation of a growing phenomenon rooted in hate, bigotry, racism, and the extremist ideology of racial and white supremacy.

Lodhi said the growing prejudice against Islam was “evident in policies aimed at creating walls and barriers against displaced populations, as much as in attempts to denigrate Islamic beliefs and our sacred personalities on the pretext of freedom of expression.”

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